Knowing God is Eternal Life

“Father, Glorify Your Son…” Part 3

(John 17:3, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, February 21, 2010)

John 17:1-3 … "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Q: What is the first petition in Jesus’ prayer to the Father?
A: "Glorify your Son." (John 17:1)
Q: Father, what have you given Your Son concerning humanity?
A: "You have given Him authority over all flesh." (John 17:2)
Q: Heavenly Father, what is eternal life?
A: "That they know you.” (John 17:3)

The requirements for and experience of eternal life
Some of us grew up in an environment where we thought very little about how someone gets to heaven. It was not something that anyone talked about in our circles. We either assumed that almost everyone went there, or that no one went there, because there probably was no such place. There was not necessarily a lot of clear thinking on this topic in our minds.

That looser way of dealing with spiritual knowledge assumes that we can never really know God, and that we can never really know what life will be like after we die, so that there's no particular point about being too definite about these things. A person can operate on a certain set of assumptions about spiritual matters without having to be too certain of the truth. All of that can change very quickly when the dividing line between life as we know it, and life as it may be beyond death gets uncomfortably close. We tend to get impatient with vague and uncertain answers when we suddenly need to know. (As Tom Hanks says in Apollo 13 waiting for the reentry plan for the astronaut's return to earth, “The world's getting' awfully big in the window.”)

There comes a point when a person is more determined to have a clear answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” As important as that question is, it's not the only question that the Bible answers. Much of what God wants us to know about eternal life has very little to do with what we must do to get there, especially since we can't make eternal life happen for ourselves anyway. There are other questions and answers. For instance, “What is eternal life?” In John 17:3, when Jesus says, “This is eternal life,” we have to be careful to notice that He did not say, “This is the requirement for eternal life,” or “This is what you need to do to experience eternal life.” He said this is eternal life. He is speaking to His Father in the hearing of the church about the experience of eternal life. Whatever else can be said about heaven or the resurrection, this much is of central importance: Heaven is a place where people know God. “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

They
Jesus uses this simple word “they” to speak of the group of people that will experience eternal life. In the previous verse, when the Lord spoke of His authority over all flesh, He referred to the people that the Father has particularly given to the Son. The Son will give them this experience of eternal life. In this chapter, this “they” first refers to the specific original 12 (minus 1) disciples that Jesus prays for in verses 6-19. But beyond those few, in verses 20-26 Jesus prays for a larger group of disciples. This larger group “will believe in Me through their word,” meaning the word of the original apostles. Jesus has authority over all flesh, but not all people will believe in the apostolic testimony concerning Jesus. Yet many, however weakly or falteringly, will call upon the Lord, they will be saved, they will be granted eternal live.

Know
This group that Jesus calls “they,” these people who are known by the Father from before all time, are given to the Son, and who receive eternal life as a gift from him; they will know God. Whatever else can be said about eternal life, when we get to heaven we do some very amazing knowing. There is much variety in knowing. It is great to know some facts just in time to pass a test. It's even better to gain a real mastery over some area of study so that you could successfully face a group of experts in your field and calmly answer whatever questions they might want to ask you. Above this kind of knowing of things is the knowing of a person, and that experience can certainly grow. But eternal life involves an even better knowledge.

You, and...
When we come to faith in the Son of God, we enter upon the journey of spiritual life that Paul says will get much better in heaven. It is a journey of knowing God. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” There must be something different between the fullness of God's knowledge of us and our knowledge of Him. Nonetheless, there can be no doubt that God is telling us to think of heaven and eternal life as a place and time where we will know Him, the only true God, beyond our wildest dreams. (The example of Job.)

The best ways for us to know God is by knowing Jesus the Messiah whom He has sent. He is the One praying here, the One who is asking His Father in this chapter to glorify Him. God has granted us many ways to know Him. We are told that all people know God through creation (Example: like recognizing someone you have seen several times before, though perhaps you have never been introduced.) It is through hearing the Word of God that we see Jesus. By the work of the Holy Spirit our knowledge of God can increase throughout our lives. Yet can anyone doubt that there is a greater and fuller relational love and a most wonderful knowledge of God that is in the very air of heaven? (The illustration of parenthood and growth in relationship.)

Knowing and serving a God who can't be fully know and does not need anything from anyone... Wouldn't it be great to be able to see into heaven? Three of the disciples were given a special gift of seeing and feeling eternal life here on earth in the transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8), and it was obviously an experience that was beyond them. In fact, knowing God is really beyond us. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes about our knowing even just the works of God: “Though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.” That's true. Who can claim that he knows the works of God or the wisdom of God? If we cannot know these, how can we say that we know God Himself? And yet Jesus said in John 8:31-32 that those who abide in His Word would be His true disciples, and that they would know the truth. He said, “You shall know the truth, and truth shall make you free.” And we have John 17:3, John 1:18, and many others...

This knowing of God is a gift of Jesus to the ones that the Father has given to Him, the ones for whom He gave His life, the ones for whom He died. If we are allowed to serve Him in any way, it is not because He needs us, but because He knows that we need to give ourselves away in order to be what we will be. Do you know the Father and the Son? Will you serve the Father and the Son eternally? That is the best life, and it is a gift of God to be received even today, but above all, let your heart be thrilled with the fact that your knowledge of the Father and the Son will not be limited to whatever you may have attained to so far. In heaven, you will really know the only true God and Jesus the Messiah. This is eternal life.

1. What are the requirements for a person to be granted eternal life?
2. How does this verse summarize the experience of eternal life?
3. “You know God.” What are the variety of meanings of this statement:?
4. What does this verse teach us about God the Father, and Jesus Christ His Son?